Intelligent score four

ABSTRACT

An intelligent Score Four, comprising: chess pieces and a chessboard. The chessboard comprises an upper panel, an electronic element, and a power supply. The upper panel is provided with several movement intervals where L layers of chess pieces can be stacked; the movement intervals are arranged in an array of M rows and N columns; L, M, and N are all natural numbers greater than or equal to 4; the electronic element comprises a monitor, a processor, and an alarm device. Each movement interval is accordingly provided with a monitor. An output end of the monitor is connected to an input end of the processor. An output end of the processor is connected to the alarm device. The monitor is configured to monitor the variation value of the number of chess pieces in the movement interval). The processor determines the alignment state and the spatial position state of the chess pieces.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase application submitted under 35U.S.C. § 371 of Patent Cooperation Treaty application serial no.PCT/CN2021/074010, filed Jan. 27, 2021, and entitled INTELLIGENT SCOREFOUR which application claims priority to Chinese patent applicationserial no. 2020100788123, filed Feb. 3, 2020.

Patent Cooperation Treaty application serial no. PCT/CN2021/074010,published as WO 2021/155752 A1, and Chinese patent application serialno. CN 2020100788123 are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of board games, inparticular, to an intelligent Score Four.

BACKGROUND

Connect Four, also known as Score Four, is a chess game developed by A.P. Nienstaedt in 1968. The Score Four includes: 1), a plurality ofsticks, which are arranged in a matrix or square array on a chessboard,and each stick being long enough to insert into at least four beads; and2) beads with different colors, which can be used by a player and anopponent, respectively, and each bead being provided with a hole intowhich the stick is inserted. Rules of the game require both the playerand the opponent to take turns sleeving one of their own beads outsidethe rolling stick, so that the bead falls on the bottom or on otherpieces due to gravity. When one of the player and the opponent placeshis/her own four beads in a line vertically, horizontally or diagonally,he/she wins.

This is a battle game that very tests the players' spatial imagination.The players need to think about the placement of the pieces whileobserving. However, when the number of placed pieces graduallyincreases, the beads on the sticks in the middle of the matrix areeasily blocked by the beads on the sticks in the periphery of thematrix, making it difficult for players to correctly determine whetherthe winner has been decided.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the technical problem that it is difficult for boththe player and the opponent to accurately determine whether the winnerhas been decided during the Score Four game, the technical solution aimsto provide an intelligent Score Four, which can assist players toaccurately determine the winner of the game.

In order to solve the above technical problems, in an aspect, thepresent disclosure adopts the following technical solution.

An intelligent Score Four includes:

-   -   pieces; and    -   a chessboard, including:        -   an upper panel provided with a plurality of placement areas            in which L layers of pieces are stackable, the placement            area being arranged in an array of M rows and N columns, and            wherein L, M, N are natural numbers greater than or equal to            4;        -   electronic components including monitors, a processor, and            an alarm device, each placement area being provided with a            monitor therein correspondingly, an output end of the            monitor being connected to an input end of the processor, an            output end of the processor being connected to the alarm            device, and wherein the monitor is configured to monitor a            change value of the number of pieces in the placement area            where the monitor is located; and the processor obtains side            states and spatial position states of the pieces on the            chessboard from data input by the monitor; after determining            that four pieces with the same color are connected in a            straight line, the processor sends a signal indicating that            a game is over to the alarm device, and the alarm device            feeds back a result of the game to outside through            sound/light; and        -   a power supply powering the electronic components.

There are various ways for the monitor to identify the player's move.For example, the player informs that the move is completed by pressing abutton in a placement area, and the processor obtains the stackingnumber of pieces in the placement area by recording the number of timesthe same button is pressed. Specifically, the monitor includes a maincontrol board, buttons, and micro switches. The main control board islocated below the upper panel. The micro switches are mounted on themain control board and correspond one-to-one with the placement areas. Abottom of the button is in contact with an action reed of the microswitch; and the placement area is provided with a through hole throughwhich the button partially passes.

Further, a top of the button includes a platform on which the pieces arecapable of being placed. A first magnet is embedded in a center of theplatform. A bottom surface of the piece is provided with a secondmagnet. The second magnet has an opposite magnetism to the first magnet.A top surface of the piece is provided with a third magnet. The thirdmagnet has the same magnetism as the first magnet. The magnets are usedfor positioning and centering between the pieces, which can save thestructure of rods and beads like the conventional Score Four, making thechessboard and the pieces more portable.

Or, through configuring a circuit connection between the pieces and thechessboard, and applying a safe voltage, the player's move can beobtained by monitoring the resistance change in the circuit formed bythe placement area. Specifically, the monitor includes a main controlboard and a chessboard contact group. The main control board is locatedbelow the upper panel. Each placement area is provided with a group ofchessboard contact groups. One end of the chessboard contact group iselectrically connected to the main control board, and the other end ofthe chessboard contact group passes through the upper panel. Each pieceis provided with a piece main board and a piece contact group. The piececontact group is electrically connected to the piece main board. Thepiece contact group passes through a top surface and a bottom surface ofthe piece and is adapted to the chessboard contact group.

Further, the piece contact group and the chessboard contact group eachinclude an inner contact, an outer ring contact, a return spring, and apositioning magnet. The inner contact and the outer ring contact are ina shape of concentric circles. The positioning magnet is provided at acenter of the inner contact. A positioning magnet of the chessboardcontact group is a first positioning magnet, and a positioning magnet ona bottom surface of the piece contact group is a second positioningmagnet. The second positioning magnet has an opposite magnetism to thefirst positioning magnet. A positioning magnet on a top surface of thepiece contact group is a third positioning magnet. The third positioningmagnet has the same magnetism as the first positioning magnet. Thereturn spring provides support for the inner contact and the outer ringcontact, respectively. The centering by magnetic attraction is alsoadopted, but since there are metal contacts required for circuitconnection, the return spring is additionally provided to ensure goodcontact between the contacts.

Or, by directly monitoring the change of the weight of the pieces in theplacement area, the player's move process and the spatial position ofthe pieces can be calculated. That is, the monitor is a gravity sensor.

In addition, it is also possible to use a structure similar to theconventional Score Four in combination with the light sensor to identifythe player's move. That is, the detector includes a string rod. L lightsensors are mounted on the string rod at equal intervals. The piece isprovided with a holel into which the string rod is inserted. When thepiece is not placed, all the light sensors on the string rod can sensethe external light source signal. When the pieces are placed, some lightsensors are blocked by the pieces and cannot sense the light sourcesignal, so that the processor can obtain that the spatial positionscorresponding to the light sensors have been occupied by the pieces.

Each time the processor monitors the player's move, the player can begiven feedback through the alarm device, or two sides of the player andthe opponent can be notified in the form of sound/light when it is foundthat any of the two sides meets the winning condition. For example, thealarm device includes lampshades and lamp beads. The lampshades are eachdisposed in the placement areas; and the lamp beads are each disposed inthe lampshades. The alarm device may also be a loudspeaker, whichbroadcasts information directly by voice. Or the alarm device may be abuzzer for information reminder.

The pieces themselves can be individually made with color markings sothat players can distinguish the battle side. Since the two sides of theplayer and the opponent during the Score Four have to take turns placingthe piece and cannot skip the placing, the processor can distinguish theside to which the pieces belong by recording the parity of the totalorder of moves.

It is also possible to establish wireless communication between thechessboard and the pieces, so that the processor can directly identifythe side to which the pieces belong. Even the pieces are made intolight-transmitting components that do not need to be color-marked inadvance. Through built-in lamps of multiple colors, after the processordistinguishes the side to which the pieces belong according to the orderof the move, the pieces are made to show the corresponding colorsthrough wireless communication. Specifically, the intelligent Score Fourfurther includes a wireless transmission assembly and lamp groups. Thelamp groups are each mounted on the pieces and each includelight-emitting points of at least two colors. The wireless transmissionassembly includes a wireless transmitter located in the chessboard andwireless receivers located in the pieces. The processor adjusts thecolor of each lamp group through the wireless transmission assembly.This configuration enables the pieces to adopt a unified structure,without distinguishing specific colors, and enables the pieces to to beidentified by the processor as long as the pieces have an independentcode.

Furthermore, the intelligent Score Four further includes a networkcommunication module. The network communication module is configured forestablishing a data transmission channel between the processor and anexternal intelligent terminal. Two pairs of intelligent Score Four withthe same working principle can be used to realize remote battle.

Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure has the followingbeneficial effects.

The intelligent Score Four according to the present disclosure canidentify the spatial position of each piece, so as to accuratelydetermine whether the side of the game participants meets the winningcondition, and give a victory or defeat prompt, thereby improving theplayability of the Score Four.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding, reference is now made to thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingDrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front entire cross-sectional view of an intelligent ScoreFour according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is an isometric perspective view of the intelligent Score Fouraccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an intelligent Score Four according to asecond embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosurewill be clearly and completely described below with reference to theaccompanying drawings in conjunction with the specific embodiments.Apparently, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodimentsof the present disclosure, rather than all the embodiments. Based on theembodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained bythose of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fallwithin the protection scope of the present disclosure.

In the first Embodiment, an intelligent Score Four as shown in FIGS. 1to 3 includes pieces 100 and a chessboard 200. The chessboard includesan upper panel 210, electronic components, and a power supply.

The upper panel 210 is provided with a plurality of placement areas 211in which 5 layers of pieces 100 can be stacked. The placement areas 211are of abstract spatial concepts and are not enclosed by physicalobjects on the upper panel 210. To help understanding, as shown in FIG.3 , a boundary of each of the placement areas 211 is marked with dottedlines. The placement area 211 is arranged in an array of 5 rows and 5columns. In theory, the upper panel 210 can accommodate 125 pieces 100at the same time.

The electronic components include monitors, a processor, and an alarmdevice. Each placement area 211 is provided with a monitor thereincorrespondingly. The monitor includes a main control board 221, buttons222, and micro switches 223. The main control board 221 is located belowthe upper panel 210. The micro switches 223 are mounted on the maincontrol board 221 and correspond one-to-one with the placement areas211. The bottom of the button 222 is in contact with an action reed ofthe micro switch 223. The placement area 211 is provided with a throughhole through which the button 222 partially passes. An output end of themicro switch 223 is connected to an input end of the processor by themain control board 221. The output end of the processor is connected tothe alarm device. The alarm device includes lampshades and lamp beads231. In this embodiment, the translucent button 222 is used as thelampshade, and the lamp bead 231 is mounted at the position below thebutton 222 on the main control board 221. The top of the button 222includes a platform on which the pieces 100 can be placed. A firstmagnet 232 is embedded in the center of the platform. A bottom surfaceof the piece 100 is provided with a second magnet 101. The second magnet101 has an opposite magnetism to the first magnet 232. A top surface ofthe piece 100 is provided with a third magnet 102. The third magnet 102has the same magnetism as the first magnet 232.

When a player uses the intelligent Score Four described in thisembodiment, each time a piece is placed, the piece 100 needs to beplaced in the placement area 211, so that the first magnet 232 and thesecond magnet 101 attract each other to achieve centering, and at thesame time, the player needs to gently press the piece 100 to drive thebutton 222 down, thereby triggering the micro switch 223. The processordetermines the position of the piece after receiving a signal of themicro switch 223. The horizontal coordinates of the piece 100 areobtained according to the placement area 211 corresponding to the microswitch 223, and the height coordinates of the piece 100 are determinedaccording to the number of times the micro switch 223 is triggered,thereby determining the spatial position data of the piece 100. Afterthe processor obtains side states and spatial position states of thepieces on the chessboard, the processor can accurately determine whetherthere is a winning condition (four pieces connected in a straight line).In order to improve the interaction between the chessboard 200 and theplayers, the alarm device can be configured such that whenever the microswitch 223 is triggered, the lamp bead 231 in the correspondingplacement area 211 will light up for a short period of time, indicatingthat the processer has received the current placing information of theplayer. When the winning condition is met during the game, the alarmdevice can be configured to sequentially light up the lamp beads 231 inthe placement areas 211 where the four pieces connected in a line arelocated.

In the second Embodiment, an intelligent Score Four as shown in FIG. 4has a structure similar to that of the intelligent Score Four accordingto the first embodiment, except that: monitors of the intelligent ScoreFour according to the second embodiment configure a circuit connectionbetween the pieces 100 and the chessboard 200, and applies a safevoltage, so as to obtain the player's move by monitoring the resistancechange in the circuit formed by the chessboard 200 and the pieces 100.Specifically, the monitor includes a main control board 221 and achessboard contact group. The main control board 221 is located belowthe upper panel 210. Each placement area 211 is provided with a group ofchessboard contact groups. One end of the chessboard contact group iselectrically connected to the main control board 221, and the other endof the chessboard contact group passes through the upper panel 210. Thepiece 100 is provided with a piece main board 111 and a piece contactgroup. The piece contact group is electrically connected to the piecemain board 111. The piece contact group passes through a top surface anda bottom surface of the piece 100 and is adapted to the chessboardcontact group.

Further, the piece contact group and the chessboard contact group eachinclude an inner contact 001, an outer ring contact 002, a return spring003, and a positioning magnet. The inner contact 001 and the outer ringcontact 002 are in a shape of concentric circles. The positioning magnetis provided at the center of the inner contact 001. The positioningmagnet of the chessboard contact group is a first positioning magnet004, and the positioning magnet on the bottom surface of the piececontact group is a second positioning magnet 005. The second positioningmagnet 005 has an opposite magnetism to the first positioning magnet004. The positioning magnet on the top surface of the piece contactgroup is a third positioning magnet 006. The third positioning magnet006 has the same magnetism as the first positioning magnet 004. Thereturn spring 003 provides support for the inner contact 001 and theouter ring contact 002, respectively. In this embodiment, the centeringis also achieved by magnetic attraction, and the return spring 003 isadditionally provided to ensure good contact between the contacts.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the presentdisclosure is not limited to the details of the above-describedexemplary embodiments, but that the present disclosure may be embodiedin other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodimentsare to be regarded in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive,and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appendedclaims rather than the foregoing description, which are thereforeintended to include within the present disclosure, all changes madewithin the meaning and scope of the equivalents of appended claims.

1. An intelligent Score Four, comprising: pieces; and a chessboard, comprising: an upper panel provided with a plurality of placement areas in which L layers of pieces are stackable, the placement area being arranged in an array of M rows and N columns, and wherein L, M, N are natural numbers greater than or equal to 4; electronic components comprising monitors, a processor, and an alarm device, each placement area being provided with a monitor therein correspondingly, an output end of the monitor being connected to an input end of the processor, an output end of the processor being connected to the alarm device, and wherein the monitor is configured to monitor a change value of the number of pieces in the placement area where the monitor is located; and the processor obtains side states and spatial position states of the pieces on the chessboard from data input by the monitor; after determining that four pieces with the same color are connected in a straight line, the processor sends a signal indicating that a game is over to the alarm device, and the alarm device feeds back a result of the game to outside through sound or light; and a power supply powering the electronic components.
 2. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a main control board, buttons, and micro switches; the main control board is located below the upper panel; the micro switches are mounted on the main control board and correspond one-to-one with the placement areas; a bottom of the button is in contact with an action reed of the micro switch; and the placement area is provided with a through hole through which the button partially passes.
 3. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 2, wherein a top of the button comprises a platform on which the pieces are capable of being placed; a first magnet is embedded in a center of the platform; a bottom surface of the piece is provided with a second magnet; the second magnet has an opposite magnetism to the first magnet; a top surface of the piece is provided with a third magnet; and the third magnet has the same magnetism as the first magnet.
 4. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a main control board and a chessboard contact group; the main control board is located below the upper panel; each placement area is provided with a group of chessboard contact groups; one end of the chessboard contact group is electrically connected to the main control board, and the other end of the chessboard contact group passes through the upper panel; each piece is provided with a piece main board and a piece contact group; the piece contact group is electrically connected to the piece main board; the piece contact group passes through a top surface and a bottom surface of the piece and is adapted to the chessboard contact group.
 5. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 4, wherein the piece contact group and the chessboard contact group each comprise an inner contact, an outer ring contact, a return spring, and a positioning magnet; the inner contact and the outer ring contact are in a shape of concentric circles; the positioning magnet is provided at a center of the inner contact; a positioning magnet of the chessboard contact group is a first positioning magnet, and a positioning magnet on a bottom surface of the piece contact group is a second positioning magnet; the second positioning magnet has an opposite magnetism to the first positioning magnet; a positioning magnet on a top surface of the piece contact group is a third positioning magnet; the third positioning magnet has the same magnetism as the first positioning magnet; the return spring provides support for the inner contact and the outer ring contact, respectively.
 6. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, wherein the monitor is a gravity sensor.
 7. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, wherein the monitor comprises a string rod, L light sensors are mounted on the string rod at equal intervals; and the piece is provided with a holel into which the string rod is inserted.
 8. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, wherein the alarm device comprises lampshades and lamp beads; the lampshades are each disposed in the placement areas; and the lamp beads are each disposed in the lampshades.
 9. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless transmission assembly and lamp groups; and wherein the lamp groups are each mounted on the pieces and each comprise light-emitting points of at least two colors; the wireless transmission assembly comprises a wireless transmitter located in the chessboard and wireless receivers located in the pieces; the processor adjusts the color of each lamp group through the wireless transmission assembly.
 10. The intelligent Score Four according to claim 1, further comprising a network communication module, and wherein the network communication module is configured for establishing a data transmission channel between the processor and an external intelligent terminal. 